Iowa Making Progress on Distracted Driving

A 2017 law in Iowa that banned texting and driving has worked, but there is always room for more progress.

Experts define distracted driving as "anything that takes your mind off the road while driving". Eating, reading and of course, using your cellphone all fall into this category,

Preliminary reports from the Iowa Department of Transportation say the cell phone usage factor has decreased thanks to the 2017 law. Car crashes from distracted driving went from 1,231 in 2016 to 1,207 last year. In Cedar Rapids alone, in that same time frame it dropped from 27 to 18.

That's good news, but there's always room for improvement. Iowa DOT continues to encourage people to set aside distractions while driving and to be more aware during difficult weather conditions while driving. It sounds simple and obvious, but it's very important.

Chris Schwarz of the National Advanced Driving Simulator Center in Coralville says a 2-second glance at your phone while behind the wheel is long enough to wreak havoc.

So please, keep cooperating with authorities on this issue so we can continue to make progress in reducing fatalities from it.